#an artist's crisis in one episode i love him laughing at his own stories despite nobody else getting it HE'S SO FUCKINGSTCSRSCSUCWJS

[specialshinytrinkets]

Okay, so I wanted to send my mutual an episode of KikoRiki to familiarise him with Pin — a character I really like (one episode isn't enough to say EVERYTHING about him, but dear god, he's the best, I love the kid robot's German mechanic dad :> )

Which meant I had to watch one episode to see what his name is, since some were changed in the English dub

And holy hell........

(English dub)

(Original)

The difference is driving me insane. Literally

I know that dubs aren't always good at conveying the original's intent, look no further than Gumball's Russian dub with its censorship of "harsh" words like "butt", but THEY STRAIGHT UP CHANGE LINES TO SOMETHING THAT BARELY MAKES THE DIALOGUE FLOW AND THE VOICES ARE KILLING ME

so yeah i found another thing to be mad at

[argumentl]

The Freedom of Expression, radio version - Ep 24, March 2016 - 5th Anniversary of 3/11, Human canvass artwork, Kyo hayfever, Actress childless by choice, Celeb Instagram spat.

Kaoru starts this episode by commenting that that it was the 5th anniversary of the 2011 March 11th earthquake and tsunami. Joe says that as well as visiting the destroyed nuclear reactor, he also spent time in Fukushima. He says that 5 years is a turning point for residents, because this is the point at which government financial grants run out. After this, the residents must support themselves. Having spoken to the locals, Joe says that even if support were to continue, it may not be efficient. The more time passes, the more difficult it gets to know if the support is getting to where it is really required. Locals have compained about the number of volunteers, for example. They don't need that many now. Additionally, there are many people in the area, especially the elderly, who really do need help, but who tend to shoulder their load alone, rather than reach out. For example, people who require help with transportation to hospitals etc. These people are not asking for money, which makes it difficult to know how to help. Kaoru stresses that no matter how many years pass, this disaster must never be forgotten.

Kaoru's topic of interest this time is the British artist Eliza Bennett and her work 'A Woman's Work is Never Done'. In this work Bennett used her own palm as a canvass to stitch in coloured thread, and it has recieved a lot of attention, some quite harsh. Joe asks Kaoru what he thinks about this. Kaoru says he's not entirely sure, but it seems like it wouldn't be possible without some kind of painful trigger, and she may have let it go too far. It looks almost like a highly-evolved prank. But at the same time, he's pretty impressed by it. The thought of sewing thread into your own hand is pretty shocking to him. He says that because of what he's done to his own body (tattoos), he is in no place to tell others what to do with theirs, but still, this makes him uneasy.

Next they are joined by Dobashi for the Tokyo Sports corner. Dobashi asks them both how they are managing with hayfever. Joe says he is fine. Kaoru says he usually suffers a bit just at the start of hayfever season, but after that he is ok. Dobashi says he has been trying out pollen desensitization therapy, and is nervous to see if it will actually work during Spring. Kaoru says that Kyo has tried the same thing. Having hayfever during lives is pretty annoying for him. Dobashi asks whether Kyo ever sneezes during lives. Kaoru doesn't think he does, but then again, maybe he does when he turns his back to the audience.

Dobashi's first news story is that the actress Yamaguchi Tomoko had done an interview for the womans' magazine 'Frau' in which she stated very clearly that she never wants to become a mother. Many of the magazine's readers agreed with her, making this a big talking point in the media. Dobashi says from one perspective anyone is free do as they please, and there is nothing really wrong with this decision, but on the other hand, Japan is facing a population crisis. Who will support the elderly in years to come? Should it be a responsibility to have children? Kaoru states also very clearly that this should totally be up to the individual to decide freely. He asks if anything happened to Yamaguchi in her childhood to influence her outlook. Dobashi says, her parents divorced when she was 6, her little sister was raised by her mother, and she was raised by her father. So she probably does not put much faith in the idea of a conventional family. She probably doesn't feel the need to have children, and feels happy without them. Kaoru agrees with this. Joe says that people have a right to be happy without being classed as a statistic in the declining population. People should not face this issue with indifference - it does need serious thought, but at the same time lifestyle choices should be respected. Kaoru then brings up the problem of the aging population, specifically recent news of over-stressed care workers abusing residents in care homes. What are they doing there? They knew what the job would involve. He feels quite strongly about this, but stops himself before he gets carried away with it.

Dobashi's next story is that the singer Oshio Manabu (formally convicted and imprisioned for drugs offenses) had posted a photo on Instagram of himself with his arms round the shoulder of soccer player Kashiwagi Yosuke. Kashiwagi had subsequently spoken out to the effect that, 'He's not my friend, I barely know him'. Oshio had then tweeted 'You liar!', or words to that effect. Dobashi says Kashiwagi is probably under pressure from the soccer association to distance himself from such dubious individuals if he wants to gain a more prominent image in Japanese soccer. Kaoru thinks this is pretty interesting, and wonders whether these guys are actually friends. No one seems to really know, but they look pretty chummy on the photo. They probably weren't the closest of pals though. Kaoru thinks they should have been more straightforward with each other if that was the case. Dobashi says he once caught up with Oshio in Narita Airport, while Oshio was on his was to Hawaii. At the time, he was dating actress Yada Akiko, but his management didn't approve of the relationship, which meant he could be fired if he persisted with it. Dobashi interrogated him about whether he was going to choose 'love' or 'Liv' (the name of his band). Oshio apparently laughed loudly at this. Kaoru thinks Oshio seems like an interesting guy, although he has never met him. He thinks sponsers are probably behind the pressure being put on Kashiwagi to deny association with Oshio. He says it looks kinda cute, seeing Oshio trying to up his image by posing with a J-league player.

To finish, Kaoru reads out some messages from  listeners stating that despite many other fans saying they want some solo material from Kaoru, they do not want him to start a solo project, they think he is just fine in Dir en grey. Kaoru says he hasn't even announced any solo plans! But when he sees so many message with such strong feelings towards Dir en grey, he feels happy. Dir en grey is too busy, and song writing takes up enough of his time anyway.

[awkward-marinette]

Unprofessional “Desperada” Recap

It’s been a day after “Desperada” aired and I decided to do a rewatch of this episode. I’ve watched it 3 times already and I’ve changed opinions about many scenes that initially made me mad so that’s why I’m doing a recap. Be prepared because it’s going to be a long one. It’s going to contain unprofessional, sometimes blurry screenshots, Luka praise and grammar mistakes but... let’s get to it. 

- Lukanette in this episode was kinda ruined by how Marinette considered Luka her second chance choice. I know it's related to snake miraculous but still... My boi deserves better. Hell, MARINETTE deserves better than being written like that and those are main reasons why I was so pissed after watching "Desperada" for the first time

- girls (Alya, Alix and Mylene) are noticing Lukanette only now? I thought it was obvious that the chemistry is there - but also, I agree with their opinions with my whole heart

And I'm also starting to see that girls are getting tired of Marinette's obsession which Adrien which is understandable. They help her all the time trying to get her with the boy of her dreams and nothing happens. Yeah, I would be pushy and annoyed as well. But it makes me worried for one of next episodes which title I can’t remember but in the description it said that Marinette’s friends will be group akumatized because of something that Marinette is going to do. 

- quality Adrigami right there - I need to double check correct episodes order (by production number) to be 100% sure but I'm convinced that this episode is before "Ikari Gozen" otherwise I don't see the reason why Kagami is so distant towards Marinette again. But I appreciate scenes with them, especially when they rebel against their overprotective, overcontrolling parents

- about this disastrous greeting Adrien and Kagami scene - it's not easy seeing your crush laughing and being comfortable with someone else and we see it on Marinette's face. And yet again she decides to interrupt it by getting in their space. Doing and saying stupid things because of her skyrocketing nerves caused by Adrien's presence. Without thinking leaving Luka’s side to run to her crush like she did a bad thing. During my first watching, I didn't notice just how nervous she was until everyone started to look at her after Kagami's comment implying Luka is Marinette's boyfriend, waiting for her reaction. We know that for most of the time Marinette is not doing well under the pressure from other characters and this scene is no exception to that. No wonder she messed up later too, being looked at from all sides makes you super nervous. I can sympathize with that

Also, wow, Kagami, you don’t need to cling that much to Adrien. It’s not like Marinette is gonna attack him or something. 

- "he's just a friend" - Marinette, you're definitely spending too much time around Adrien. As the blond is doing the same with his feelings towards her vs. Ladybug, she openly denies her feelings for Luka despite having them. That's why she brushed off what Alya said and will continue to do that until she realizes it herself. It’s as if those two didn’t know that you can have multiple crushes on people

- Jagged/Anarka scene - there's some backstory here and I need to know more! I don't think it was just playing together in a band and there were some romantic feelings involved. Although I don't like the idea of Jagged being Juleka and Luka's father (that would be lame), it would definitely be an interesting plot to explore for the sake of Couffaine family story arc. Especially after seeing Anarka's steel refusal and Couffaine siblings being shocked that their mom was once working with their music idol

- Jagged having a soft spot for Marinette is still one of the cutest things ever. Mere concept of an international music star acting as a cool uncle for ordinary artist girl is awesome. I really like that he always seems to actually listen to what she has to say and doesn't treat her as a kid who don't know anything. And asking her if she knows some talented guitarists although he probably has lots of connections in the industry just proves how big that soft spot for her is. He visibly perked up at her sight and started playing happier melody!

- nominating Adrien for new guitarist disastrous scene - OH MY PLAGG, I don't know what to say about the scene everyone is talking about. This is definitely one big triggering scene and if I was annoyed at Marinette when she dropped Luka to greet Adrien earlier, this one made me: mad, sad, embarassed at the same time. Cringefest at its finest.

You know what I mean? Look at everyone’s reactions: 

BRUH. 

Plus: 

Even Rose was shocked! Yeah, Rose who always seems to be in her own little world!

It made me regret that she didn't decide to give up on Adrien in "Puppeteer 2.0" (yeah, I know episodes are not in the order and it seems that "Desperada" is chronologically after that). I mean, girl, even being under the pressure is not gonna save you this time in my eyes. You had the right to be super nervous around your crush and babbling incoherently when you didn’t expect to see him but trying to impress him by recommending him for skills you know he doesn’t have? Your feelings for that boy are not healthy for you and you need to see that. If Adrien visibly has doubts and says he's more of a pianist AND JAGGED STONE HIMSELF IS QUESTIONING THAT CHOICE AND POINTS AT LUKA, it should give you a signal that you're not in your right senses. I really want live to the day that in one episode she finally realises that and will start to move on. I bet it will improve her character and relationships with everyone around her. And I can't believe that writers decided to include that scene - there were probably few different ways that this scene could go without making Marinette a fool blinded by her love.

And man, I was feeling so sad for Luka there. Being overlooked like that just because the girl he likes nominated a guy she loves when it's clear that he's not suited for the job must be hard to accept. And how does he manage to make me like him more every time he shows up? He handled that situation with levels of maturity he should teach main charactes about.

- Desperada - it was this rare kind of episodes when we didn't get akumatised character's backstory first, that's why sometimes I thought this episode had quicker pacing than usual. We got more information from the villain herself this time and it was a nice change of routine. Also, Desperada was so cool! Her design is absolutely fantastic (one of the best in the show imo), her powers were deadly, she had amazing voice and she was competent enough to create such a threat that it forced Ladybug and Chat Noir to reach for miraculous that could mess with time. And it wasn't obvious she could be this dangerous at first glance! The only thing I didn’t like about her is why she was akumatized - REALLY, JAGGED?! Come on, dude! 

I would totally cosplay that if I wasn’t a complete disaster with instruments.

Her trumpets made funny noises when she shot from them, it cracked me up a little. And I need that guitar axe for... reasons...

- yo, Kagami proving she's worthy of dragon miraculous! She charged at Desperada without hesitation although she just met Anarka! 

- Rose went through a surprising change in last two seasons - I never expected to see her do things like shielding someone from the villain. On second thought, she was protecting her dear Juleka so it shouldn’t be that surprising. But it is, at least for me. 

- Marinette realised she wasn't in her right mind after all - well, better late than never, right? What Tikki said about her having a troubled heart - I want to believe it's something that will make her rethinking few things and will be a spark that will eventually ignite character development. I hate seeing her like this when she proved many times she’s better than that

- Lukadrien - you know, on one hand it's good to see two male love rivals being on good terms with each other (although I wonder how long it's going to last after Adrien gets to his senses regarding liking Marinette as more than JuSt A fRiEnD), on the other it's depressing when you look at how girls are treated, all hating each other (well, except Marinette and Kagami now). Why can't we have nice things... Also, Lukadrien was strong in this one.

- Luka proving he deserves to be a hero - it's not usual for civilians in this show to willingly put themselves in villain's path to help heroes but it's always appreciated when it happens if that civilian isn't hurt in the process. Luka managed to distract Desperada so that Ladybug could corporate a plan that helped trio to escape her.

- Ladybug, Adrien and Luka in sewers - so she gets the message to go to Master Fu for new miraculous, meanwhile we continue with Lukadrien scenes. They find a locker room for employees and Adrien finally can separate from Luka to transform into Chat Noir. I'm surprised that Luka didn't hear door opening and closing again despite being right next to it. Or maybe... he did since I suspect he knows Ladybug’s identity so him knowing Chat’s identity would be pretty funny. 

- snake miraculous - Master Fu said that this miraculous is really powerful (duh) and must be used by wise person who can resist a temptation to abuse its power. Kinda foreshadowing for what's going to happen later, isn't it? I've got no idea how Marinette could think Adrien was suited to be a snake. It doesn't fit him at all. There must be other miraculouses in the box that would be more fitting for him. I need to do a research.

- Adrien gets his chance with Ladybug - well, he wasn't against the idea of her giving miraculous to Adrien despite his identity crisis (cue: “Onii-chan” and the scene where Chat Noir lands on the billboard with Adrien’s commercial on it). It's clear he didn't think about risking being discovered as Chat Noir and jumped in this train because he was blinded by the opportunity to finally get his Lady to love him as Adrien. After rewatching the episode I've changed my opinion about this moment and I think that it was somehow needed at this point in the show. It can be treated as a simulation what would happen if the reveal happened right now, when Adrien/Chat Noir is blinded by his love for Ladybug and Marinette/Ladybug is being blinded by her love for Adrien. And it does not end well.

I can't at Plagg when he realises that Adrien is going to use new miraculous offered by Ladybug so quickly and willingly. When PLAGG drops his usual behaviour and channels his inner TIkki by saying serious, wise things, you should know that this is a huge mistake, Adrien. Just look at his face:

And I suspect that Plagg has some history with Sass because it's not the first time he acts weird around snake kwami. Yet again, I want to know!

- Adrien is (temporary) a character with the highest amount of magic transformations - and, tbh, Aspik’s transformation wasn't very good. His suit looks weird in motion, although I understand choice with a cowl to not look similar to Chat Noir. But Aspik's final pose is so ridiculous it hurts - even Kim's wasn't at that level. 

But maybe, it was another element that proved Adrien wasn't the right choice for snake miraculous. 

Also, him acting oblivious to what kwami is and "What am I supposed to do?!" were priceless. Very subtle acting, Adrien. A+.

- blinded by love - this is the theme of this episode. But this time it was from both sides. We got used to it coming from Marinette in most episodes and fandom has made many creative works with how it could happen from Adrien's side, and we finally could see it in cannon. Since we know how it is with Marinette when it comes to Adrien, I'm going to focus more on him and Ladybug.

  So Marinette as Ladybug makes mistake twice in this episode. This time with more serious repercussions since it concerns miraculous and success of the mission. Focusing more on giving miraculous to Adrien and his presence by her side, she isn't able to focus on defeating akuma at all. 

She compliements him for the smallest things (like choosing his hero name), laugh at the joke that was so Chat Noir, looks at him all the time. She even went to that extreme as saying that they don't need Chat at all! BOI WASN’T HAPPY: 

Ladybug has always been the responsible one and always puts the mission first. But here, she wasn't even caring for her own safety by checking her surroundings, something that you thought could never happen.

As for Adrien, he knew how powerful snake miraculous is. But because he prefered to woo Ladybug instead of eliminating akuma threat first, he failed to prove he was the right guy for the job as Aspik. 

And failed miserably. I won't go as far as saying that he deserved to end up with PSTD syndrome after failing to save her so many times but if he was smarter, he could pull himself together much sooner and fix it without hurting. He had a tool that could cut his pain and suffering of losing Ladybug short. But his determination/obsession made him overlook that simple fact. I mean, dude, it took you THREE MONTHS to realise it's not working?! And what irked me is the fact that despite all those chances he had, he was still prioritizing flirting with Ladybug instead of defeating Desperada. 

I'm sorry but after that confession, he lost another points in my eyes. Also, it showed that he is more like his father than we gave him credit for with that unhealthy determination to achieve his goal. It's downright scary.

But one good thing emerged from this horrible montage of his failures: Ladybug’s reaction to the reveal he’s Chat Noir. In spare of few seconds she went through all package of emotions - confusion, shock, bewilderment, comprehension, anger. It was delightful. 

After thinking about it for some time, I came to a conclusion that this plot is kind of a warning from writers. We, as a fandom, want The Reveal to happen, some of us want it now, others (like me) don't want it fastforwarded and now I see why it's not a good idea. Adrien and Marinette are at that moment that both still have an unhealthy perception of love and their feelings are more like obsession. They're both putting other one on the pedestal as a person completely rid of flaws and ability to make mistakes. They have tunnel visions and don't see anything around but the person they love. So if they knew each others’ identities now when their feelings are in such underdeveloped stages, they would fail as superheroes because those feelings would got in the way. And it's something that they can't allow since Hawkmoth is getting stronger and is plotting something big. The message is clear: don't expect The Reveal to become cannon now because it's not the right moment.

But I'm not trying to give writers enough credit - at least, this time. I want to see characters learning from events that took place in this episode. I want to see them actually realise that their concept of love is flawed and decide to be better than they are right now. I want to see Love Square finally going somewhere rather than being constantly stuck in nowhere. That's why I have high hopes for the rest of season 3 and have big expectations from season 4 (because, if Love Square developing will happen, it's now or never).

Ok, let's continue.

- Sass - poor kwami was active for months, didn't get a snack, had a short break in the box and was summoned again very quickly (although refreshed). #letsassrest2019

- Luka being the chosen one - ok, as funny as it sounds, there's no better summary why Luka got snake miraculous in the end. When he reentered the scene, he witnessed some serious talk between Ladybug and Adrien, the latter obviously crying, both visibly down and disstressed and, blessed his soul, said he's glad that Adrien was found because he was worried (Lukadrien fans must have gone wild at that). Adrien looked at him and made this face:

The face of realization. Because, as he experienced, snake miraculous requires to be used wisely while keeping a cold head. Something that he couldn't do. And before him stood a guy who's really calm, collected but brave and caring (Adrien's words). Fortunately, Adrien didn't continue to pout but immediately suggested to Ladybug to give Luka a miraculous. After saying goodbye (with bittersweet Ladrien moment), Ladybug turned to confused Luka and it was his time to shine. And boiii, he shone alright! I mean, look at those majestic screenshots of his transformation:

Sidenote: this tranformation was probably the longest one but it could give Chloe a run for her money in fabulous department.

- new trio of Paris - and we got cool trio of superheroes to deal with Desperada (who was still laying down in sniper position on Eiffel Tower, lol) who were working very well together. Main duo was back in their game and overall I'm here for Chat Noir/Viperion bro ship.

- plan to take down Desperada - as I said earlier in the recap, Desperada didn't seem that threatening at first but she quickly showed that I was mistaken. It was no overexaggeration when Marinette said that there is no room for error with her because of variety of weapons she used. That's why they needed to plan their ambush from A to Z and that's why snake miraculous was better for this mission than, for example, rabbit miraculous. It's good that Viperion wasn't hit during those chances because they would be screwed and Hawkmoth would probably win.

As I predicted, Viperion needed considerably less time to figure out how to get the upper hand in the fight. And although it was strange that both Ladybug and Chat Noir struggled more than usual with defeating an akuma, it was nice seeing other hero forming a plan in the meantime. 

Now I wonder if Viperion's lyre has the function to distract opponents with its melody or it was the fact that Desperada was just sensitive for hearing music in general. Also, lyre can be used in other ways:

- I need a confirmation that those two are officially together (and Fang is their pet)! Pleeeeaaaaaseeeee!

- Vivica is so cute! And I love that heroes always do "pound it" next to confused victims

Luka is so freaking tall here! And I thought that Adrien got taller this season! He looks so small compared to Viperion!

- oh yeah, with that look he gave her, it's pretty much confirmed that Luka knows Marinette is Ladybug. Otherwise it wouldn't be shown like that.

- Kagami giving Marinette an opening for fair rivalry is something you don't see everyday. Kagami encourages her to make up her mind with all that Adrien-Luka thing - another motivation for Marinette to push her character development ahead.

Alya chimes in saying that boys also have to decide. We know what Luka thinks but Adrien still needs more time to clarify that. And waiting for that is going to kill us all.

So that’s all, folks! TL;DR, thanks for coming to my ML Talk! Man, why am I doing these only when an episode creates a lot of fandom salt?

[notasawrap]

You can listen to the track right now, and you can expect it to be heavily featured on every mainstream radio station in the world from this morning onwards. Go. Listen a few times. Then come back here and keep reading, because there’s some emotions that I need to express right now.

Even as a member of the world’s biggest boyband, Harry Styles marched to the beat of his own drum. Everything surrounding today’s release of “Sign of the Times” indicates that he’s marching more fervently than ever, and inviting the entire world to fall in line behind him. If you don’t, that’s okay — Styles would never do anything as uncouth as resort to force. But for those who do join him on this journey, he’ll lead you, if you’ll allow me to mix my musical instrument metaphors, like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, into the realms of his own hopes and dreams, into the future, into the truth.

The track, co-written by Styles and acclaimed producer Jeff Bhasker (who has Grammys for his work on “Uptown Funk,” “We Are Young,” “All of the Lights” and “Run This Town”) is a whopping five minutes and 40 seconds long, a piano-heavy, falsetto-ridden epic rock ballad. Given that a song of this length is generally, in this lightning-paced, attention-deficit world, considered unmarketable and un-radio-friendly, this is a declaration of intent. Not a single One Direction song cracks the five minute mark — their own most famous example of the driving pop-rock ballad, “Story of My Life,” just about hits four. Pop stars do not release long songs, particularly not as singles. Particularly not as debut singles. Long songs are for artists.

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Styles’ choice to show his hand with “Sign of the Times” demonstrates either an immense confidence in the loyalty of his existing audience, a deep love of his own material, or an absolute lack of fucks to give about what anyone thinks of him. Honestly, it’s probably a combination of all three: that special blend is what has already made Styles stand out thus far as an approachable yet mysterious idol. It must be a blessed freedom, to be so well-loved that you can put whatever you want into the world and know it will be supported. To have that up your sleeve if pushed in a different, er, direction.

Despite their reality-show beginnings, the authenticity of One Direction as people is what made them into a phenomenon. Those outside looking in may have seen boyband fangirl hysteria, but those inside know that it was more than that. It wasn’t about crushing on them — though they are all extremely cute — it was more like they were your best friends, or family members that you were proud of. One Direction’s success was due to the fans — the fans came before the recording contract. When they were eliminated from The X-Factor, their organically growing fan base — thanks to the irreverent, genuine personalities revealed in their brand-new Twitter accounts and grainy YouTube videos — was the reason that Simon Cowell’s Syco snapped them up.

They didn’t know what they were doing, or what was to come. They were 16 years old. They were just some lads having a go. It was truly a matter of demand before supply — and to the elitists out there, wank all you like, but that’s almost grass-roots. That’s an audience choosing what they love and what they want to support, as opposed to being presented something that was packaged and polished in a boardroom and getting told “this is what you will like. Give us your money.”

One Direction’s working-class roots, their refusal to succumb to the trappings of fame, and their respect for their fans have all been key factors in their unprecedented global success. These fans — mostly young women, the most valuable market for any form of pop culture — cannot be tricked, they cannot be bought. They have to choose you. No one knows this better than Harry Styles — he knows that he’s the Chosen One. He knows what that now affords him.

As I mentioned, one thing you may not know about Styles, if you’re not a Directioner, is that, in the most zen-like way imaginable, he doesn’t give a toss what society makes of him. Perhaps “free spirit” a better way to put it — he’s always been a non-conformist reminiscent of the rock stars of the ’70s, with an added dose of authenticity. For them, it was often part of the performance. This is just who Harry Styles is, and it’s what’s made him a superstar.

His fans have always accepted and cherished his oddities, and no one could claim his image is curated by anyone other than him. The polo shirts and chinos first pushed by the label are just a horrible memory these days. He wears glittered boots and shearling coats and womens’ trousers, collects tattoos and modern art, loves motorcycles and Soul Cycle and scented candles and his mother, laughs way too hard at basic puns, and wants to spread peace and love. He’s wholesome AF. Nothing about him is ironic. Nothing about him is convoluted. If Harry Styles likes something, he just goes for it, and this single is no exception.

“Sign of the Times” brings to mind the wailing, emotional ballads of the glam rock and hair metal bands of the ’70s and ’80s — there’s a little Aerosmith, a little “November Rain.” Vocally — especially in the rather unexpected falsetto, from One Direction’s deepest and raspiest singer — there’s shades of Bowie and Prince, artists Styles is known to admire and emulate in his off-beat and sometimes gender-bending fashion choices. It’s orchestral, almost operatic in scope, with something of Coldplay, something of The Killers, something of fellow British ex-boybander Robbie Williams, something of Bhaskar’s previous production buddies Fun. There’s also, weirdly, something in the melodies that reminds me of Hamilton’s “It’s Quiet Uptown.”

Lyrically, it’s about loss — it seems to be about two people who love each other despite an impossible situation. “Will we ever learn, we’ve been here before, it’s just what we know,” Styles croons, revisiting the themes of “Something Great,” one of his most notable writing credits with One Direction, and one of the band’s rawest tunes. This almost sounds like a continuation of the story of that same relationship. Styles has called the track deeply personal, and out of a catalogue of 70 songs, it’s currently the work he’s the most proud of. It’s a classic heart-on-sleeve performance, and naturally, everyone will want to know who it’s about. That’s if you take his “running from the bullets” chorus as a metaphor about fame, of course. If you take it literally, it sounds like a commentary on the refugee crisis. Knowing Styles, either option could be viable.

Despite being down to earth and actually pretty dorky, Styles knows that professionally, he’s hot property, so the access he’s granted to himself surrounding this debut speaks volumes about his priorities. His first post-hiatus feature article was not with a newspaper, or a teen magazine, or GQ, or even Rolling Stone — it was a takeover of the bi-annual cultural journal Another Man, in an editorial that featured three separate photoshoots, a conversation between him and Paul McCartney, and a self-curated catalog of his obsessions, including scanned pages of his diary.

For his first performance as a solo artist, he’s chosen Saturday Night Live — on the first-ever episode that will air concurrently in all time zones. SNL has featured One Direction several times as a musical guest, but their 2013 appearance, in which they debuted the indie-rock-esque and harmonious “Through The Dark,” was widely credited with changing the public perception of the group and building their credibility with a new crowd, both proving them to be extremely skilled live performers and allowing the show’s primarily adult audience to understand the appeal of their cheeky, but not childish, personalities.

These choices seem to indicate a desire to be taken seriously, to validate himself as an artist that can appeal to all corners of culture. The Styles showcased in Another Man is an ethereal aesthete, an old soul, a highly intelligent and creative being with a carefully measured voice and vision, someone who immediately bewitches everyone who ever meets him. Today’s release of “Sign of the Times” demonstrates a slightly different side of Styles. Unsurprisingly to anyone who knows anything about Styles’ personal life — I don’t mean the women the tabloids claim he’s dating, I mean his real personal life — he’s given the single’s worldwide first play, and his only in depth interview, to longtime friend Nick Grimshaw, host of the BBC’s Radio 1 Breakfast Show.

While premiering a debut single on the biggest radio show in your home country may simply sound like good business, it packs more of an emotional punch than that. Styles and Grimshaw have been extremely close since before either of them was a household name. After meeting in 2011, Styles joined Grimshaw’s social circle and was accepted as part of the one of the coolest and most media-savvy cliques in London society — a gang that includes Alexa Chung, Florence Welch, and fashion designer Henry Holland. Not your typical boyband crowd. When Styles based himself in London, he and Grimshaw were inseparable. Styles was present in the studio for the final free-for-all of Grimshaw’s graveyard shift radio show – revealing on air that he’s often sat in before, but wasn’t allowed to speak on the microphone — and he was also one of the celebrities involved in the promotional campaign welcoming Grimmy to the country’s top radio job.

As Britain’s biggest popstar and most prominent radio host, they’ve, of course, interacted in an official capacity — Styles co-hosting with Grimshaw for Radio 1’s One Direction Takeover, and Grimshaw interviewing three-fifths of 1Dsurrounding the release of their movie. Their professional interviews tend to dissolve into giggles, a series of personal in-jokes, or anecdotes about their friends and parents — yes, they’re friends with each other’s parents, and Styles has spent Christmas with the Grimshaws in the past — and they’ve also appeared on the radio together slightly less professionally, including a memorable morning after the 2013 Brit Awards, in which Grimshaw, Styles and an assorted motley crew rocked up to the BBC studios still drunk, having not yet gone to bed. They’ve been photographed together doing everything from attending fashion shows to shopping for groceries. Tumblr has even documented a history of the pair sharing clothes.

Nick Grimshaw does not think he, himself, is cool. He doesn’t think Harry Styles is cool. He’s the opposite of a name-dropper: he’s a self-deprecating homebody, he knows his public life is ridiculous. He tells mundane or hysterical stories about his friends on the radio, which often — especially the ones about Styles — don’t actually name the culprit, the pieces only falling into place later, via a social media post or fan sighting. Grimshaw — who is, like Styles, a working-class lad from near Manchester — is famously social, but he does not collect celebrity pals. He spills a lot of details about his life on his radio show, and through this it’s been established that most of his nearest and dearest were all young hopefuls together, and held tight to each other as they became successful.

The fact that Styles was never the nucleus of Grimshaw’s circle cements that it’s not a friendship of convenience or a PR move, and both he and Styles notably and publicly treat all their friends — famous or not — with the same value. Example: Grimshaw’s best friend, creative director Aimee Phillips, recently married his former BBC assistant producer, Ian Chaloner. Styles is friends with both. Styles is also famously close with his hair stylist Lou Teasdale, and lived, during the height of One Direction’s fame, in the attic of 1D’s go-to video producer Ben Winston. (Winston made the move to the USA with his longtime collaborator James Corden — another of Styles’ pre-fame friends. Expect to see him on the Late Late Show extremely soon.)

Styles’ decision to give Grimshaw this exclusive interview — a two hour session, cut down from a three hour recording — is a deeply personal one. There’s no journalist or host who Styles would reveal more of himself to, no one who can humanize him more. Grimshaw has already spoken on Radio 1 about how nervous both he and Styles were about Grimshaw hearing “Sign of the Times” — Grimshaw, as a reluctant tastemaker and a terrible liar, feared disliking his friend’s offering and being awkwardly unable to offer any platitudes. Thankfully, Grimshaw loved it — but the fact that Styles wants to be interviewed by someone who he knows would never lie to him about whether he was any good, who pokes fun at his slow speech and clumsiness and accidental hipsterness, someone who makes him feel normal, says a lot about how he wants people to view him.

Grimshaw’s interview, which meanders over subjects including, but not limited to: the creation of Styles’ new album, naturally; his controversial romantic life — including the deep 1D fandom meme about him dating Barack Obama; his role in the new Christopher Nolan epic Dunkirk; the fact that he still gets starstruck a lot; his family, his bandmates, and his vehement belief that Brussels sprouts are the new kale. Grimshaw also gently mocks Styles about a few of the more diva-like rumors about his life — an organic chance for the star to put them to bed. The recording of this chat is already being provided to other publications as a source for their promotional articles about “Sign of the Times” — instead of their own interview opportunities, they’re getting Grimshaw’s version of Styles — arguably, the real Styles, as close as the public is allowed to get to who he is behind closed doors.

This isn’t a new Harry Styles. This is who Harry Styles has always been — why he’s gained respect and loyalty from so many people, including huge handfuls of industry professionals and dozens and dozens of celebrities, in many genres and mediums, many of whom may be considered, by close-minded purists, to be “real artists” compared to Harry’s “manufactured popstar.” From Ed Sheeran to John Legend, Elton John to Mick Jagger, Kesha to Kristen Wiig, no one has a bad word to say about him. He is beloved by all. Even one of Rolling Stone’s most esteemed music critics, Rob Sheffield, who’s, for the record, a 50 year old straight dude, has gushed his praises. The kid baked Stevie Nicks a freakin’ birthday cake, people.

What Styles puts out into the world, how he presents himself as a public figure, is truly unique. He’s never rude, never snobby, never jaded, never dismissive. He has a wicked and sly humor, he gets along with children and old people. Forget the fact that he’s a heartthrob. As a role model for young women (and young men, and, while we’re at it, the sitting president of these United States) there isn’t a better one around. He’s inclusive and progressive in a way that seems to come from his core — he’s a feminist, a vocal supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community, a paragon of atypical maleness, so comfortable with his image that he’s willing to rebut a bandmate’s quip that the most important quality in an ideal partner should be “female,” with a chiding “not that important.” (Styles’ preferences were, instead, ‘sense of humor’ and ‘being nice to people.’) Regardless of where he chooses to put his penis, his gentle wokeness, and awareness of how heteronormativity hurts, is a quality that every 21st century man should aspire to. He’s constantly conscious, and his reputation as a bad-boy lothario is completely bizarre — he’s never made a public mess of himself, never even made a social media misstep, and any mother should be grateful to send her daughter (or, you know, son) out on a date with him.

This isn’t clueless happenstance. Harry Styles knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s put a lot of hard work ultimately into earning the right to be himself, and to use his influence in order to shape the world around him as he dreams it to be. His image, his taste, and now his sound are all both timeless and yet completely original. He’s going to be the biggest male solo artist on the planet — he already pretty much is — and a world in which Harry Styles is a dominant voice in the cultural zeitgeist is a more beautiful, more gentle, more daring world. We must all just pray that we don’t accidentally punch the first person — the first One Direction naysayer who probably also thinks Justin Timberlake is the essence of hip and who would have never given *NSYNC the time of day — who we overhear saying that Harry Styles is “cool now.” Styles really wouldn’t like it.

Listen to the whole interview on BBC’s Radio 1 Breakfast Show now.

[wellhello1derland]

First things first: “Sign of the Times,” the debut single from One Direction’s Harry Styles, just had its first play worldwide, on BBC’s Radio 1.

You can listen to the track right now, and you can expect it to be heavily featured on every mainstream radio station in the world from this morning onwards. Go. Listen a few times. Then come back here and keep reading, because there’s some emotions that I need to express right now.

Even as a member of the world’s biggest boyband, Harry Styles marched to the beat of his own drum. Everything surrounding today’s release of “Sign of the Times” indicates that he’s marching more fervently than ever, and inviting the entire world to fall in line behind him. If you don’t, that’s okay — Styles would never do anything as uncouth as resort to force. But for those who do join him on this journey, he’ll lead you, if you’ll allow me to mix my musical instrument metaphors, like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, into the realms of his own hopes and dreams, into the future, into the truth.

The track, co-written by Styles and acclaimed producer Jeff Bhasker (who has Grammys for his work on “Uptown Funk,” “We Are Young,” “All of the Lights” and “Run This Town”) is a whopping five minutes and 40 seconds long, a piano-heavy, falsetto-ridden epic rock ballad. Given that a song of this length is generally, in this lightning-paced, attention-deficit world, considered unmarketable and un-radio-friendly, this is a declaration of intent. Not a single One Direction song cracks the five minute mark — their own most famous example of the driving pop-rock ballad, “Story of My Life,” just about hits four. Pop stars do not release long songs, particularly not as singles. Particularly not as debut singles. Long songs are for artists.

Styles’ choice to show his hand with “Sign of the Times” demonstrates either an immense confidence in the loyalty of his existing audience, a deep love of his own material, or an absolute lack of fucks to give about what anyone thinks of him. Honestly, it’s probably a combination of all three: that special blend is what has already made Styles stand out thus far as an approachable yet mysterious idol. It must be a blessed freedom, to be so well-loved that you can put whatever you want into the world and know it will be supported. To have that up your sleeve if pushed in a different, er, direction.

Despite their reality-show beginnings, the authenticity of One Direction as people is what made them into a phenomenon. Those outside looking in may have seen boyband fangirl hysteria, but those inside know that it was more than that. It wasn’t about crushing on them — though they are all extremely cute — it was more like they were your best friends, or family members that you were proud of. One Direction’s success was due to the fans — the fans came before the recording contract. When they were eliminated from The X-Factor, their organically growing fan base — thanks to the irreverent, genuine personalities revealed in their brand-new Twitter accounts and grainy YouTube videos — was the reason that Simon Cowell’s Syco snapped them up.

They didn’t know what they were doing, or what was to come. They were 16 years old. They were just some lads having a go. It was truly a matter of demand before supply — and to the elitists out there, wank all you like, but that’s almost grass-roots. That’s an audience choosing what they love and what they want to support, as opposed to being presented something that was packaged and polished in a boardroom and getting told “this is what you will like. Give us your money.”

One Direction’s working-class roots, their refusal to succumb to the trappings of fame, and their respect for their fans have all been key factors in their unprecedented global success. These fans — mostly young women, the most valuable market for any form of pop culture — cannot be tricked, they cannot be bought. They have to choose you. No one knows this better than Harry Styles — he knows that he’s the Chosen One. He knows what that now affords him.

As I mentioned, one thing you may not know about Styles, if you’re not a Directioner, is that, in the most zen-like way imaginable, he doesn’t give a toss what society makes of him. Perhaps “free spirit” a better way to put it — he’s always been a non-conformist reminiscent of the rock stars of the ’70s, with an added dose of authenticity. For them, it was often part of the performance. This is just who Harry Styles is, and it’s what’s made him a superstar.

His fans have always accepted and cherished his oddities, and no one could claim his image is curated by anyone other than him. The polo shirts and chinos first pushed by label are just a horrible memory these days. He wears glittered boots and shearling coats and womens’ trousers, collects tattoos and modern art, loves motorcycles and Soul Cycle and scented candles and his mother, laughs way too hard at basic puns, and wants to spread peace and love. He’s wholesome AF. Nothing about him is ironic. Nothing about him is convoluted. If Harry Styles likes something, he just goes for it, and this single is no exception.

“Sign of the Times” brings to mind the wailing, emotional ballads of the glam rock and hair metal bands of the ’70s and ’80s — there’s a little Aerosmith, a little “November Rain.” Vocally — especially in the rather unexpected falsetto, from One Direction’s deepest and raspiest singer — there’s shades of Bowie and Prince, artists Styles is known to admire and emulate in his off-beat and sometimes gender-bending fashion choices. It’s orchestral, almost operatic in scope, with something of Coldplay, something of The Killers, something of fellow British ex-boybander Robbie Williams, something of Bhaskar’s previous production buddies Fun. There’s also, weirdly, something in the melodies that reminds me of Hamilton’s “It’s Quiet Uptown.”

Lyrically, it’s about loss — it seems to be about two people who love each other despite an impossible situation. “Will we ever learn, we’ve been here before, it’s just what we know,” Styles croons, revisiting the themes of “Something Great,” one of his most notable writing credits with One Direction, and one of the band’s rawest tunes. This almost sounds like a continuation of the story of that same relationship. Styles has called the track deeply personal, and out of a catalogue of 70 songs, it’s currently the work he’s the most proud of. It’s a classic heart-on-sleeve performance, and naturally, everyone will want to know who it’s about. That’s if you take his “running from the bullets��� chorus as a metaphor about fame, of course. If you take it literally, it sounds like a commentary on the refugee crisis. Knowing Styles, either option could be viable.

Despite being down to earth and actually pretty dorky, Styles knows that professionally, he’s hot property, so the access he’s granted to himself surrounding this debut speaks volumes about his priorities. His first post-hiatus feature article was not with a newspaper, or a teen magazine, or GQ, or even Rolling Stone — it was a takeover of the bi-annual cultural journal Another Man, in an editorial that featured three separate photoshoots, a conversation between him and Paul McCartney, and a self-curated catalog of his obsessions, including scanned pages of his diary.

For his first performance as a solo artist, he’s chosen Saturday Night Live — on the first-ever episode that will air concurrently in all time zones. SNL has featured One Direction several times as a musical guest, but their 2013 appearance, in which they debuted the indie-rock-esque and harmonious “Through The Dark,” was widely credited with changing the public perception of the group and building their credibility with a new crowd, both proving them to be extremely skilled live performers and allowing the show’s primarily adult audience to understand the appeal of their cheeky, but not childish, personalities.

These choices seem to indicate a desire to be taken seriously, to validate himself as an artist that can appeal to all corners of culture. The Styles showcased in Another Man is an ethereal aesthete, an old soul, a highly intelligent and creative being with a carefully measured voice and vision, someone who immediately bewitches everyone who ever meets him. Today’s release of “Sign of the Times” demonstrates a slightly different side of Styles. Unsurprisingly to anyone who knows anything about Styles’ personal life — I don’t mean the women the tabloids claim he’s dating, I mean his real personal life — he’s given the single’s worldwide first play, and his only in depth interview, to longtime friend Nick Grimshaw, host of the BBC’s Radio 1 Breakfast Show.

While premiering a debut single on the biggest radio show in your home country may simply sound like good business, it packs more of an emotional punch than that. Styles and Grimshaw have been extremely close since before either of them was a household name. After meeting in 2011, Styles joined Grimshaw’s social circle and was accepted as part of the one of the coolest and most media-savvy cliques in London society — a gang that includes Alexa Chung, Florence Welch, and fashion designer Henry Holland. Not your typical boyband crowd. When Styles based himself in London, he and Grimshaw were inseparable. Styles was present in the studio for the final free-for-all of Grimshaw’s graveyard shift radio show – revealing on air that he’s often sat in before, but wasn’t allowed to speak on the microphone — and he was also one of the celebrities involved in the promotional campaign welcoming Grimmy to the country’s top radio job.

As Britain’s biggest popstar and most prominent radio host, they’ve, of course, interacted in an official capacity — Styles co-hosting with Grimshaw for Radio 1’s One Direction Takeover, and Grimshaw interviewing three-fifths of 1D surrounding the release of their movie. Their professional interviews tend to dissolve into giggles, a series of personal in-jokes, or anecdotes about their friends and parents — yes, they’re friends with each other’s parents, and Styles has spent Christmas with the Grimshaws in the past — and they’ve also appeared on the radio together slightly less professionally, including a memorable morning after the 2013 Brit Awards, in which Grimshaw, Styles and an assorted motley crew rocked up to the BBC studios still drunk, having not yet gone to bed. They’ve been photographed together doing everything from attending fashion shows to shopping for groceries. Tumblr has even documented a history of the pair sharing clothes.

Nick Grimshaw does not think he, himself, is cool. He doesn’t think Harry Styles is cool. He’s the opposite of a name-dropper: he’s a self-deprecating homebody, he knows his public life is ridiculous. He tells mundane or hysterical stories about his friends on the radio, which often — especially the ones about Styles — don’t actually name the culprit, the pieces only falling into place later, via a social media post or fan sighting. Grimshaw — who is, like Styles, a working-class lad from near Manchester — is famously social, but he does not collect celebrity pals. He spills a lot of details about his life on his radio show, and through this it’s been established that most of his nearest and dearest were all young hopefuls together, and held tight to each other as they became successful.

The fact that Styles was never the nucleus of Grimshaw’s circle cements that it’s not a friendship of convenience or a PR move, and both he and Styles notably and publicly treat all their friends — famous or not — with the same value. Example: Grimshaw’s best friend, creative director Aimee Phillips, recently married his former BBC assistant producer, Ian Chaloner. Styles is friends with both. Styles is also famously close with his hair stylist Lou Teasdale, and lived, during the height of One Direction’s fame, in the attic of 1D’s go-to video producer Ben Winston. (Winston made the move to the USA with his longtime collaborator James Corden — another of Styles’ pre-fame friends. Expect to see him on the Late Late Show extremely soon.)

Styles’ decision to give Grimshaw this exclusive interview — a two hour session, cut down from a three hour recording — is a deeply personal one. There’s no journalist or host who Styles would reveal more of himself to, no one who can humanize him more. Grimshaw has already spoken on Radio 1 about how nervous both he and Styles were about Grimshaw hearing “Sign of the Times” — Grimshaw, as a reluctant tastemaker and a terrible liar, feared disliking his friend’s offering and being awkwardly unable to offer any platitudes. Thankfully, Grimshaw loved it — but the fact that Styles wants to be interviewed by someone who he knows would never lie to him about whether he was any good, who pokes fun at his slow speech and clumsiness and accidental hipsterness, someone who makes him feel normal, says a lot about how he wants people to view him.

Grimshaw’s interview, which meanders over subjects including, but not limited to: the creation of Styles’ new album, naturally; his controversial romantic life — including the deep 1D fandom meme about him dating Barack Obama; his role in the new Christopher Nolan epic Dunkirk; the fact that he still gets starstruck a lot; his family, his bandmates, and his vehement belief that Brussels sprouts are the new kale. Grimshaw also gently mocks Styles about a few of the more diva-like rumors about his life — an organic chance for the star to put them to bed. The recording of this chat is already being provided to other publications as a source for their promotional articles about “Sign of the Times” — instead of their own interview opportunities, they’re getting Grimshaw’s version of Styles — arguably, the real Styles, as close as the public is allowed to get to who he is behind closed doors.

This isn’t a new Harry Styles. This is who Harry Styles has always been — why he’s gained respect and loyalty from so many people, including huge handfuls of industry professionals and dozens and dozens of celebrities, in many genres and mediums, many of whom may be considered, by close-minded purists, to be “real artists” compared to Harry’s “manufactured popstar.” From Ed Sheeran to John Legend, Elton John to Mick Jagger, Kesha to Kristen Wiig, no one has a bad word to say about him. He is beloved by all. Even one of Rolling Stone’s most esteemed music critics, Rob Sheffield, who’s, for the record, a 50 year old straight dude, has gushed his praises. The kid baked Stevie Nicks a freakin’ birthday cake, people.

What Styles puts out into the world, how he presents himself as a public figure, is truly unique. He’s never rude, never snobby, never jaded, never dismissive. He has a wicked and sly humor, he gets along with children and old people. Forget the fact that he’s a heartthrob. As a role model for young women (and young men, and, while we’re at it, the sitting president of these United States) there isn’t a better one around. He’s inclusive and progressive in a way that seems to come from his core — he’s a feminist, a vocal supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community, a paragon of atypical maleness, so comfortable with his image that he’s willing to rebut a bandmate’s quip that the most important quality in an ideal partner should be “female,” with a chiding “not that important.” (Styles’ preferences were, instead, ‘sense of humor’ and ‘being nice to people.’) Regardless of where he chooses to put his penis, his gentle wokeness, and awareness of how heteronormativity hurts, is a quality that every 21st century man should aspire to. He’s constantly conscious, and his reputation as a bad-boy lothario is completely bizarre — he’s never made a public mess of himself, never even made a social media misstep, and any mother should be grateful to send her daughter (or, you know, son) out on a date with him.

This isn’t clueless happenstance. Harry Styles knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s put a lot of hard work ultimately into earning the right to be himself, and to use his influence in order to shape the world around him as he dreams it to be. His image, his taste, and now his sound are all both timeless and yet completely original. He’s going to be the biggest male solo artist on the planet — he already pretty much is — and a world in which Harry Styles is a dominant voice in the cultural zeitgeist is a more beautiful, more gentle, more daring world. We must all just pray that we don’t accidentally punch the first person — the first One Direction naysayer who probably also thinks Justin Timberlake is the essence of hip and who would have never given *NSYNC the time of day — who we overhear saying that Harry Styles is “cool now.” Styles really wouldn’t like it.

Listen to the whole interview on BBC’s Radio 1 Breakfast Show now.

BY NATALIE FISHER EDITED BY DONYA ABRAMO APRIL 7, 2017

[recentanimenews]

Crunchyroll Announces "AHO-GIRL", "Elegant Yokai Apartment Life", "Netsuzou Trap -NTR-", and "Tsuredure Children" at Anime Expo

Crunchyroll has just wrapped up their Industry Panel at Anime Expo, so the time is right for an overview of the new including such titles as AHO-GIRL, Elegant Yokai Apartment Life, Netsuzou Trap -NTR-, and Tsuredure Children. Check out the info below for key art, story info, and other facts!

  AHO-GIRL

Launches: TBA

Territories: TBA

    Synopsis

  She is Hanabatake Yoshiko, and she's an idiot through and through. She loves bananas, and she loves her childhood friend Akkun. That is all! Summer 2017, Aho Girl gets its long-awaited anime! Watching it will surely cheer you up, probably?

  ----

  Elegant Yokai Apartment Life

Launches: 7/3/2017 8:30AM PT (Monday)

Territories: Worldwide except Asia

  Synopsis

  Yushi Inaba is forced into an awkward living situation at his uncle's house after his parents pass away. He decides that when he goes to high school, he's going to live on his own, and finds an ultra-cheap apartment named Kotobuki-so. But it was a monster apartment, filled with monsters, humans, and ghosts! At first, Yuki doesn't know how to deal with these eerie monsters, but after spending time with these strange creatures his closed heart gradually begins to open...

  ----

  Netsuzou Trap -NTR-

Launches: TBA

Territories: Worldwide except Asia

    Synopsis

  Yuma, a high school second-year, is enjoying every day now that she has her first boyfriend. After she asks for relationship advice from Hotaru, her beautiful long-time friend who has had many boyfriends, Hotaru teases her for her inexperience and playfully does things to her that even her boyfriend doesn't do. Yuma and Hotaru's secret relationship continues to escalate, and Yuma finds herself unable to deny how it makes her feel. This school drama tells the story of the interwoven lives of these two girls with boyfriends.

  ----

  Tsuredure Children

Launches: TBA

Territories: TBA

  Synopsis

  To those of you out there who never could say "I love you"— This story is about ordinary highschoolers and how love makes them fired up, shaken, laugh, cry, and hurt. Whether things go well or not, this story of adolescence and romance will show you how they spend their precious youth. Every character is the main character here, and you're sure to find one you can sympathize with. Tsuredure Children's TV anime begins airing Summer 2017! Let's get our hearts racing together!

  In addition to the above titles, the following anme and manga titles will also premiere on Crunchyroll with dates and regions to be announced unless otherwise noted:

    Knight’s & Magic

A genius programmer and hardcore robot otaku are reborn into a world of knights and magic, where huge robots called Silhouette Knights roar across the land! Now reborn as Ernesti Echevalier, he uses his vast knowledge of machines and programming talents to begin to make his ultimate robot. But his actions have unexpected results...?! The dreams of a robot otaku will change the world!

  Knights & Magic’s first episode is available for premium users now.

  Kino’s Journey

"The world is not beautiful, therefore it is."

  "Kino's Journey -the Beautiful World-" is a story about Kino, who travels around the world with nothing but her guns (for protection) and talking motorcycle Hermes (for company). Kino travels to many mystical lands, each with its unique customs and people, and learns about the world through their stories, at some times conjuring humor and inspiration or other times piercing cynicism. However, Kino has her own custom, to stay no longer than three days in every town without exception, as she believes it is enough time to learn almost everything important about the place while still leaving time to explore new lands.

  Kino’s Journey will debut in the upcoming fall season.

  URAHARA

“PARK: HARAJUKU Crisis Team!” is now an anime! Top Japanese creators have partnered with the North American anime streaming site Crunchyroll to create URAHARA – a new series with a unique worldview and a striking visual style. A new era in Harajuku is dawning!

  PARK: HARAJUKU Crisis Team! started serialization on Crunchyroll Manga and Tumblr in 2015 as part of a collaboration between writer-editor Patrick Macias, artist Mugi Tanaka (aka Oplant), and the PARK store in Harajuku, Tokyo. The story concerns a trio of shop girls – Rito, Mari, and Kotoko –  that band together to battle an alien menace intent on removing famous locations and landmarks from the Earth.

  URAHARA will debut in the upcoming fall season.

  Manga

Crunchyroll also had several exciting manga announcements for the packed room on Sunday. Crunchyroll’s ebook service, currently available in the manga app, launched earlier this year with over 800 books from Kodansha Comics. Seven Seas has now joined the platform with over 400 titles that will being to be available later this month.

  Three exciting new titles are joining the manga simulpub service, available on web, iOS and Android!

  Final Fantasy: Lost Stranger by Hazuki Minase

Scoring a job at Square Enix, Sasaki Shogo's dream of producing a Final Fantasy game finally seems within his grasp! But after he starts, he quickly discovers that the work has nothing to do with his favorite franchise at all… Disillusioned, his enthusiasm for FF begins waning despite his sister / co-worker Yuko’s attempts to lift his spirits. Their conversation is cut short, though, when a runaway truck suddenly careens toward the two of them…!When Shogo comes to, the first thing he sees is…a Moogle?! Wait, was that a Cure spell? And chocobos…?! Hurled into a Final Fantasy world unbound to any particular installment, how will an uber-fan like Shogo survive?!

  Final Fantasy: Lost Stranger launches on July 12.

  Knight’s & Magic by Takuji Katō

A genius programmer and hardcore robot otaku is reborn into a world of knights and magic, where huge robots called Silhouette Knights roar across the land! Now reborn as Ernesti Echevalier, he uses his vast knowledge of machines and programming talents to begin to make his ultimate robot. But his actions have unexpected results...?! The dreams of a robot otaku will change the world!

  Knight’s & Magic launches on July 5.

  Restaurant to Another World by Junpei Inuzuka and Takaaki Kugatsu

There is a certain restaurant in one corner of a shopping street near the office district. The historical restaurant, marked by a sign with a picture of a cat, is called "Western Cuisine Nekoya." This restaurant looks completely normal through the week, but on Saturdays, it opens in secret exclusively to some very unique guests. During these hours, doors in various areas of a parallel world open to allow customers of many different races and cultures into the restaurant. This "Restaurant to Another World" and its food hold an exotic charm to these highly diverse customers. This is a story of the heartwarming, once-in-a-lifetime encounters between our reality and another world, between the restaurant's customers and its owner, and the food shared among them all.

  Restaurant to Another World launches on July 2.

  Crunchyroll Expo

And finally, Crunchyroll announced its first round of guests for the inaugural Crunchyroll Expo, set for August 25-27 in Santa Clara, California!

  Yoshitaka Amano

As a Japanese artist, character designer, and illustrator, Amano also works in the grounds of scenic art and stage costumes. Hired at Tatsunoko Production at the age of 15, he has created characters for some of the most prominent TV animations in Japan. He then became an independent artist in 1982. He is most well-known for his work as a character designer, title logo designer, and image illustrator for the Final Fantasy series. Since his debut, Amano’s career as an artist has flourished, producing paintings with his unique, mysterious touch in solo shows in cities such as New York, Paris, and London.

  Crunchyroll is further excited to announce that it will work with Amano-sensei to display an exhibition of his artwork. This marks the first time Amano has exhibited in the U.S. for seven years.

  Gigguk

Gigguk is a Youtuber best known for his satirical look into the world of anime and it's culture. He has done various reviews and rants but is also known for his parody work.

Hiroshi Shimizu

A prolific Japanese animator​, Hiroshi​ Shimizu started at Ghibli studio ​working on Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke,​ My ​Neighbor Yamada and Pompoko. After leaving Ghibli he ​went freelance​ and started to work on ​a combination of ​series​, high quality movies and OVA​, including​: JinRoh, Furi Kuri, Ghost in the Shell (Stand Alone Complex season 2), Millennium ​A​ctress, Lupin, SkyCrawler, One ​Piece (OAV)​, Naruto, Dragon Ball Z,​ and recently on the last Doraemon movie. He worked in ​several well known studio​s​ such as ​Studio Ghibli, Madhouse, Ankama Japan,​ TMS, Production IG, TOEI Animation, WIT STUDIO, Shin Ei Studio and now Yapiko-animation. His specialities are character ​designer, animator, animation supervisor and storyboarder. His most famous series as character designer is Michiko to Hachin.

  The Chocobros are Coming to CRX!

  Ray Chase

Ray Chase is best known for his versatility as a voice actor in video games and animation. Video game fans know him as the lead protagonist Noctis in the best-selling Final Fantasy XV and Edgar from Final Fantasy VI in World of Final Fantasy. Superhero fans know him as the voices of Jason Blood and Etrigan the Demon in the DC feature film Justice League Dark. He is a con fixture making appearances all over the world with his show "Loud, Annoying, and Very Annoying" (LAVA) with fellow voice actors Robbie Daymond and Max Mittelman.

  Max Mittelman

Max Mittelman is a voice actor and native of Los Angeles, CA. For most of his young life, Max had wanted to become a doctor. His parents were so proud of him. Once he realized, however, that he would need to study grown-up things like organic chemistry, he decided that he would rather make loud noises in a padded booth for a living. Max never looked back and has since had the opportunity to play lead characters in popular Anime series such as Kousei in “Your Lie in April,” Inaho in “Aldnoah.Zero,” and Saitama in “One-Punch Man.”Other notable roles include: Persona 5 (Ryuji); Fire Emblem Fates (Leo, Kaden, Forrest); Seven Deadly Sins (King); Miraculous Ladybug (Plagg); Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans (Ein); Star Ocean 5 (Fidel); Transformers: Rescue Bots (Blurr); Mobile Suit Gundam: Thunderbolt (Io); Fallout 4 (Zeke); Star Wars: Battlefront; (Quarren); Halo 5 (Promethean Captain, Rooker); Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void (Stone); Skylanders: Superchargers (Panderghast); Durararax2 (Shijima); Sword Art Online II (Jun); Magi: The Kingdom of Magic (Yunan); Doraemon (Soby); Atelier: Escha & Logy (Logy). Max Mittelman plays as Tredd in Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV.Follow Max on Twitter @MaxMittelman

  Adam Croasdell

Adam Croasdell is a film, TV & voice actor who's worked with Alan Rickman on the West End. He starred as Baldur in Supernatural, Hook's father in Once Upon A Time, is Bothwell on Reign. For video games he's Torvin in Middle Earth: Shadow Of Mordor & Ignis Scientia in Final Fantasy XV.

  Chris Parson

Chris Parson is a voice actor who has voiced the title role (as well as many others) on Comedy Central's animated series Lil' Bush, and has lent his voice to episodes of Fox's popular shows Family Guy, American Dad!, The Cleveland Show, and Disney's Handy Manny.

Parson has also provided voice overs for several video games; he voiced the character Yusuf Tazim in Assassin's Creed: Revelations and has provided additional voiceover work for Red Faction: Guerrilla, Infamous 2, Mafia III, and Overwatch.Recently, he voiced the character Gladiolus Amicitia in Final Fantasy XV.

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  Patrick Macias is editor in chief of Crunchyroll News & Otaku USA magazine.

He is currently serializing his latest writing project, MONDO TOKYO, on Wattpad.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com